<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=4PA6s7_0vD2vdAs00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=4PA6s7_0vD2vdAs00" width="620" height="320" ><figcaption>Sep 16, 2023; Stanford, California, USA; Sacramento State Hornets quarterback Kaiden Bennett (1) drops back to pass during the first quarter against the Stanford Cardinal at Stanford Stadium. (Photo: © Sergio Estrada, USA TODAY Sports)</figcaption></figure>On Thursday, San Jose State will host Sacramento State at CEFCU Stadium. San Jose State will combine a veteran coaching staff and young lineup, while Sacramento State is a top Division I FCS team that cannot be taken lightly.<h2>San Jose State vs. Sacramento State: The basics</h2>Records: San Jose State 0-0 (0-0 Mountain West); Sacramento State 0-0 (0-0 Big Sky) and no. 10 in the AFCA FCS coaches' pollSite: CEFCU Stadium (San Jose, California; capacity 19,000)Date and time: Thursday, August 29 at 7 p.m. (Pacific)TV: TruTV, in the debut of TNT Sports' Mountain West football coverage.Streaming video: <a href="https://www.trutv.com/watchtrutv">https://www.trutv.com/watchtrutv</a> (provider login required) and the Max streaming service (subscription required).Radio: 1220 AM (KDOW, Palo Alto) will carry the SJSU Spartans Sports Media Network's broadcast of the game, with Kevin Richardson returning for his second year calling the plays, joined by new color commentator Buck Roggeman, a former high school football coach. Roggeman and Richardson were also teammates at Stanford football in the late 1980s. San Jose State campus radio station KSJS is expected to produce a separate, student-led broadcast.The Sacramento State radio broadcast can be heard on ESPN 1320 (KIFM) in the Sacramento area.Streaming audio: KDOW streams on <a href="http://www.kdow.biz/">www.kdow.biz</a>, KSJS at <a href="http://www.ksjs.org/">www.ksjs.org</a>, and KIFM on <a href="http://www.espn1320.com/">www.espn1320.com</a>. All these stations are also available on the TuneIn app.<h2>Sacramento State: An overview</h2>Thursday's game will be only the second meeting between Sacramento State and San Jose State, exactly 11 years after San Jose State shut out Sacramento State 24-0 in San Jose.Seven years after the first classes at California State University, Sacramento, the Sacramento State Hornets football team debuted in 1954 at what was then Sacramento State College. For nearly four decades, Sacramento State football competed at the NCAA Division II level before moving up to Division I-AA (now FCS) in 1993.For the last four decades, San Jose State and Sacramento State have had cycles of success and struggle in similar time periods. Both routinely had winning seasons in the 1980s and early 1990s. But 1993 to 2018 marked much darker periods with frequent poor or mediocre seasons.Inheriting a 2-8 program, former head coach Troy Taylor instantly delivered success with a 9-4 record, Big Sky Conference championship, and NCAA playoff appearance in his debut season of 2019. By 2022, Taylor did the unthinkable: A three-peat in the Big Sky, only one loss in 24 conference games, and three straight NCAA postseason appearances.In 2023, Sacramento State defensive coordinator Andy Thompson was promoted to head coach after Taylor resigned for the job at Stanford. Thompson led Sacramento State to an 8-5 record in 2023, including a win at Stanford against his former boss and the program's first Division I playoff win. That team scored an average 30.54 points per game while holding opponents to 27.2 points.In its preseason top-25 poll, the American Football Coaches Association panel of FCS head coaches ranked Sacramento State tenth. The level of talent on the roster shows why. Sacramento State returns 13 starters, including three All-Big Sky honorees from 2023: left guard <a href="https://247sports.com/Player/Jackson-Slater-46086253">Jackson Slater</a>, wide receiver <a href="https://247sports.com/Player/Jared-Gipson-46079561">Jared Gipson</a>, and punter Cal McGough. 247Sports <a href="https://247sports.com/college/sacramento-state/season/2024-football/commits/">rates</a> Sacramento State's 2024 recruiting class the highest in the Big Sky.Sacramento State also has one player with family ties to San Jose State, cornerback Malini Ti'a, a junior college transfer from the College of San Mateo. His sister Nayeli is an outside hitter for San Jose State volleyball. On the flip side, current San Jose State chief of staff Garrett Wolfe was formerly director of football operations at Sacramento State from 2019 to 2022 under Troy Taylor.On defense, Sacramento State does have a seventh-year senior, defensive back Davion Ross. How did he gain those extra years of eligibility? Redshirting his first year in 2018, retaining a year of eligibility when the Big Sky canceled its 2020 football season during COVID, and finally medical redshirts for missing all of 2022 and 2023 with injuries.<h2>Niumatalolo’s press conference</h2>Below is video of Ken Niumatalolo's first weekly press conference at San Jose State (approx. 23 mins.) Select quotes are below the jump.On the defensive line (7:00): "We have some depth there. We may not be the biggest defense in the country, but I love the way we play."On the starting quarterback (14:50): "We know who it is. I'm just not going to tell you guys."On his approach to the roster (17:17): "Every year is a rebuild, because you start from scratch. You tear everything down, and I feel like that's how you have to do things, to set your expectations, set your culture."On his leadership style (18:50): "Kids can see right through you, and they can see right through phoniness and things that are superficial. . . . I wasn't trying to be Coach [Brent] Brennan or be anybody else. I'm just me. Not that Coach Brennan is a bad coach. Coach Brennan is a great coach, but I can't be him. It's like when I took over for Navy from Coach Paul Johnson, who was a legend there at Navy. I had to be me, because that's the only way you can do things."On use of helmet communication (20:10): "We use it every day, trying to see how we can get more efficient at it, more effective at it."On what fans can expect (20:54): "They're really going to enjoy this brand of football and this team."</div></body>

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San Jose State to open 2024 season vs. Sacramento State: Preview

On Thursday, San Jose State will host Sacramento State at CEFCU Stadium. San Jose State will combine a veteran coaching staff and young lineup, while Sacramento State is a top Division I FCS team that cannot be taken lightly. San Jose State vs. Sacramento State: The basics. Records: San Jose...

San Jose State to open 2024 season vs. Sacramento State: Preview

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